Gossip

[Flosshilde]

I don't know if there's a thread for this sort of thing (not exactly gossip) -

I'm dipping into the Mitford sisters' letters & came across this in a letter from Deborah to Diana, dated 20th May 1957 -

There's a music festival at Buxton this week so I went out of curiosity to hear Barbirolli ... Well - I know now why the old ladies queue to get in to the Albert Hall, it is the most shocking thing I ever saw, all that getting worked up in public, in front of the Mayor too. I felt quite embarrassed. Nevertheless J. Barbirolli saw me and is coming to lunch on Fri with a few followers.

[Richard Tarleton]

Fascinating, Floss. Perfectly of its time, the Philistine upper classes at their best. I tried imagining it spoken by Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham

[Beef Oven!]

I don't know if there's a thread for this sort of thing (not exactly gossip) -

I'm dipping into the Mitford sisters' letters & came across this in a letter from Deborah to Diana, dated 20th May 1957 -

There's a music festival at Buxton this week so I went out of curiosity to hear Barbirolli ... Well - I know now why the old ladies queue to get in to the Albert Hall, it is the most shocking thing I ever saw, all that getting worked up in public, in front of the Mayor too. I felt quite embarrassed. Nevertheless J. Barbirolli saw me and is coming to lunch on Fri with a few followers.

Do we have to have spoilers? At least give a warning. Otherwise it takes the shine off it, for the rest of us who are reading the book.

[Flosshilde]

As I'm dipping into it at random I've come across that particular letter at least twice, & it maked me smile each time. Was Barbirolli particularly energetic or flamboyant in his conducting? Perhaps I should put this on one of the 'conductor' threads. I think what makes Deborah's comment even funnier (or makes it funny in the first place) is the final sentence.

[Nick Armstrong]

I think what makes Deborah's comment even funnier (or makes it funny in the first place) is the final sentence.

Egg wetter gree (as someone used to say). Not that she clocked an eyeful of glorious John... oh no, perish the thought my dear!

Didn't he have an enormous baton?

Oh no, that was Adrian Boult

[vinteuil]

Fascinating, Floss. Perfectly of its time, the Philistine upper classes at their best. I tried imagining it spoken by Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham

... tho' if one wished to be pedantic (I do! I do!! ... ) - when Matthew Arnold coined the modern use of the word "Philistine" it was as an attribute of the middle classes - as distinct from the aristocracy (the "Barbarians") and the lower orders (the "Populace").

I s'pect our Debs was a Barbarian rather than a Philistine...

[Richard Tarleton]

Barbarian[/I] rather than a Philistine...

Yes that's better. She went on to be a fan of Elvis Presley, so perhaps it was only in classical music that energy and flamboyance were considered inappropriate

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I didn't know that Matthew Arnold "coined the modern use of the word 'Philistine'" - didn't he nick it from Schumann and his contemporaries?

[vinteuil]

I didn't know that Matthew Arnold "coined the modern use of the word 'Philistine'" - didn't he nick it from Schumann and his contemporaries?

... yes, the 'Davidsbündlertänze' antedate 'Culture and Anarchy' by thirty years - but for an English-speaking audience it is surely Arnold's lengthy and sophisticated explanation of what he meant by 'Philistines' etc that counts? It is his description that has stuck.









.

[mangerton]

Egg wetter gree (as someone used to say).

Goodness, that brings back memories. Afferbeck Lauder, in Fraffly Well Spoken. My sister bought me a copy for Christmas in 1968.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... yes, the 'Davidsbündlertänze' antedates 'Culture and Anarchy' by thirty years - but for an English-speaking audience it is surely Arnold's lengthy and sophisticated explanation of what he meant by 'Philistines' etc that counts? It is his description that has stuck.

I'm sure you're correct - in my own case (which I would never seek to present as "typical") I encountered the Schumann some thirty years before reading the Arnold! (I mention this with no pride.)

[jean]

I read the Arnold at school - I can't remember whether it was a necessary adjunct to the poetry, which was an exam text, or an optional extra.

I had not heard of the Schumann until now.